Recently, I have been re-evaluating the way that I am doing ministry and what I ( we ) as a ministry needs to be doing. In that reflection process, I came across an old article from 2000 regarding Success. It was a ministry self evaluation study.
In it, came a few important questions. The questions were the following:
1. Am I programming or incubating ?
2. Am I managing or encouraging ?
3. Am I focused on the size of the youth group ?
4. Am I talking the faith or living the faith ?
5. Am I speeding up or slowing down ?
6. Am I playing with toys or worshipping God ?
7. Am I devoted to my church or to Jesus ?
Thanks to Tim Baker for writing those questions out and putting them in front of me numerous years ago. Throughout the next week or so, I am going to reflect and blog on these questions as it regards to my current ministry context.
The one thing that I am doing different is "investing". I am committed to investing in the lives of my volunteers this year. I am meeting with them and hearing their stories.
May we take the time and slow down ( oxy-moron ? ) and evaluate how we are doing ministry and ask the tough questions.
2 comments:
Those are great questions for provoking thoughts and discussion. However, in a sense, I have a hard time evaluating my ministry by them because aren't we really doing both options in each question to some degree or another? Like, I need to both manage and encourage, program and incubate, be devoted to my church and to Jesus, ya know? Of course one is more important than the other, and I think that's what these questions try to indicate, but ya gotta have both, don't you? I need to both live and talk my faith.
Tim:
I think that there is probably a need for both, but I think to be "healthy", it may need to lean one way.
But, it some instances, maybe a whole shift there can / should / would work and be more healthy.
I will see where I stand from my personal stances as I reflect / journal / blog on the questions .. starting later today.
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